- Major overhaul coming for 2025 Tesla Model Y rival.
- Volkswagen to refresh the electric family SUV inside and out.
- The refresh comes in the face of growing Chinese competition such as Geely EX5, Leapmotor C10 and BYD Sealion 7.
Volkswagen will give its ID.4 mid-size electric SUV a major update in late 2026, according to reports.
Auto Express said this upcoming update will be a significant mid-life update and will be equivalent to a new generation, according to an unnamed Volkswagen spokesperson.
“Everything on the outside will be different. The swooping styling will be cleaner,” said the unnamed Volkswagen spokesperson to Auto Express. “The interior will be completely different as well.”
It’s expected the ID.4 will pick up my physical buttons and switchgear inside, like the ID.2all concept. This follows criticism of the touch-sensitive sliders in current Volkswagen products.
As previously reported, Volkswagen is also reported to roll out lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to its existing line-up of ID. electric vehicles (EVs) as part of a move that will see the vehicles based on an updated platform called MEB Plus.
“The upgrade to MEB Plus comes next year, and we will roll out the cell-to-pack battery systems with LFP,” said Volkswagen CEO Thomas Shäfer to Autocar in May this year.
“That will be a major step forward in terms of cost for us. It's very important, and also in performance. We're very happy with that. It's all in plan. We will come in with MEB Plus across the models, including ID.3, ID.4, ID.7. They will have LFP.
"You can see this move towards LFP across the board, really, except for performance applications on the upper end. In the volume game, LFP is the technology. It will start with ID.2 and then roll out through the models."
LFP battery chemistry is known to be cheaper to develop and has better thermal stability when compared to nickel metal cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion battery chemistry.
LFP batteries have been popularised by Tesla with its Chinese-made Model 3 electric sedan and Model Y electric SUV, though Chinese companies like BYD and CATL have been working and refining this technology for years.
Volkswagen LFP batteries will reportedly be made at a new battery factory in Salzgitter, Germany, which will also build NMC battery packs on a smaller scale until they’re phased out.